It feels like it was only last week that the Techcitement writing staff was complaining amongst themselves about the slow adoption of Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Despite the fact that 4.1 (Jelly Bean) is already out, you can count the ICS devices out there on your hands. Boost Mobile and Virgin, one of the two pre-pay arms of Sprint, are trying to get you to take your shoes off.
Pro tip: Never, ever Google for images of “toes” or “shoes” with SafeSearch off.
First up, we have the Samsung Galaxy S II, which Sprint sold as the Epic 4G Touch. Boost is choosing to use the actual device name, which we love. This Wi-Max device is not Boost’s first 4G phone or even its first Ice Cream Sandwich phone. That honor goes to the HTC EVO Design 4G, which was launched on the network with little to no fanfair, and that’s a pity, as it is not a terrible phone. Getting back to current events though, Boost plans on selling the Galaxy S II for $360, which isn’t a bad price considering the specs of the device. There is a bit of a sting shelling out that amount for a year-old retired flagship phone (that applies to the $299 they’re charging for the HTC Evo Design 4G as well).
Remember me? The phone you HAD TO HAVE last year? Hello? Anyone?
If the price of the Galaxy S II is too much of gouge for you, Boost and Samsung have you covered with the Samsung Galaxy Rush. Sure, the screen is a 3.5″ HVGA instead of the Galaxy S II’s 4″ SuperAMOLED, and there’s a lot less RAM or onboard storage, but the Rush is also significantly cheaper at $150. This smartphone could be good for a first smartphone or a non-power user. Despite the lower-end specs, the Rush comes loaded with Android 4.
Not that you can tell, as the Ice Creamy goodness has been smothered in TouchWiz.
Not to be outdone by Boost, Virgin Mobile announced its own new Samsung handset, the Reverb. The press photo showed the Reverb without TouchWiz, and we thought we had spotted a rare, unskinned Samsung phone, which is something I don’t think I’ve seen for some time outside the Galaxy line. Alas, it turns out that this is not the case, and TouchWiz is on the device.
Teasing or bait-and-switch? You decide.
At $250, the Reverb is a bit pricier than the Rush, but the phone comes with a 4″ screen as well as a better camera. Virgin won’t take your money until September, but pre-orders open on August 29.
If you’re wondering how the devices compare, PhoneScoop went hands on with the Rush and Reverb, as well as a feature-phone slider called the Array. PhoneScoop has a different price for the Rush than I’ve heard it listed for.
Earlier this month, Techcitement heard that Sprint’s latest Android 4.0 device, the Kyocera Rise, would move over to Virgin on August 31. While only $20 on Sprint, the low-end Android device will cost $100 on Virgin. This will make rhe Rise the cheapest no-contract Android 4 device out there. Despite only having a 3.5″ HVGA display, a shockingly low-count 3.2 MP camera, and a lower-than average 15,000 mAH battery (likely enough to power this thing though), the Rise gets our attention for not only running unskinned Android 4, but being one of the less than a handful of Android 4 devices that also has a QWERTY keyboard. Kyocera devices have burned us before, but that keyboard makes us want to give this a closer look. This has potential to be a good starter smartphone/texting device.
Possible slogan: Kyocera — when you’re stuck with no other options.
It’s honestly a joy to see Android 4 finally hitting a wider market, and it’s a bigger joy to see it on pre-pay providers. Traditionally, pre-pay providers tend to be way behind the curve in terms of hardware and software. While these phones all have last year’s hardware or older, that’s more than powerful enough to run Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s nice to see manufacturers take note of that. Hopefully, it won’t be as long of a wait for Jelly Bean to start trickling it’s way down.
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